Ross Millar's weekend reflections and best Monday bets

Sadly, the cold snap put an end to all the potential jumps action on Saturday. It’s at times like this I’m reminded just how much my life revolves around racing. Though every cloud has a silver lining and with a free afternoon, plenty of jobs were ticked off the ‘to do’ list which bodes well for my bid to escape to the Cheltenham Festival this year! 

Happily, the Naas card on Sunday survived and we were treated to some excellent performances. 

The Grade Two Racing Post Chase was won in good style by Ile Atlantique. He promised more than he delivered last season, when his form tailed off after a strong effort when second in the Lawlor’s Of Naas Hurdle. 

A winning chase debut, when his jumping looked particularly assured, gave hope that he might yet deliver on that early promise. 

On Sunday, he delivered a near faultless performance in a race where his market rivals, Inthepocket and Firefox, did not. 

Short-priced favourite Inthepocket hung badly and as a result his jumping lacked fluency. He may do better yet but it’s easy to argue his two prior pieces of chase form look less impressive with the passing of time. 

Firefox again produced a disappointing performance. He made two notable jumping errors and lacked the finishing power of the winner. Maybe a more truly run race would suit him, but before this race I viewed him as a ‘trip-less’ horse in this grade, lacking the pace for 2m and the stamina for 2m4f. This display only served to harden that opinion. 

The big challenge now is for Ile Atlantique to maintain his form through the season, but as a year older and stronger - and with Willie Mullins suggesting he would adjust his training programme - it’s entirely feasible that he will. I would expect, granted better ground, that in the spring he will step back up in trip, particularly given the Arkle looks like being a vintage edition. 

The Grade One Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle provided a timely reminder that the ability to jump is a key attribute for any horse aiming to succeed at this level. 

Last year’s Champion Bumper winner, and favourite for this, Jasmin De Vaux, clearly struggles in this department. 

He produced a poor jumping display when making a winning debut at Navan and failed to improve on that here. The engine is clearly there and the jumping may click in time, but until it does he can’t be fancied in any race containing opponents of this calibre. 

By contrast, the winner, The Yellow Clay has improved his jumping with each start and barely missed a beat here. He made hard work of landing short odds on his latest start over this trip but connections clearly learnt from that. With stablemate Wingmen sending a fair gallop, he was never far away under the continually impressive Sam Ewing. 

Sent for home early on, it’s clear stamina is his main attribute and while Supersundae chased him valiantly he never looked like being caught. He looks ready made for the Albert Bartlett so I was surprised to see in the post-race interview that his trainer Gordon Elliott suggested he might go straight to Cheltenham where the Turner’s Hurdle would be his likely target. 

Of course, in these days of super-power stables, race targets also have to factor in other runners from the same yard. Personally I’d question whether he would possess the early tactical pace for the shorter race on, potentially, better ground. 

Fingers crossed the fixtures on Monday survive the weather. Racing TV have cameras at Ludlow and Ayr, and I have selections from both tracks. 

I am hopeful that a poor seasonal return for Shighness can be simply put down to a lack of match practice as she failed to jump with any real rhythm when well beaten over this trip at Carlisle. 

I’d expect her to step forward for that run and if she does her handicap mark of 114 does not look beyond her. She was consistent last season, winning off a mark just 4lb lower than this on her second start of the season at Catterick. While she did not add to that win, she ran with credit on her final starts including when a strong staying second on her final start of the season at Wetherby. 

She has yet to race at Ayr but the long home straight should suit this strong staying mare with the forecast soft ground providing her with her optimal underfoot conditions. 

Brian Hughes knows her well and can steer her to a second career win over fences here.  

This Jamie Snowden-trained son of Shantou has looked good in both of his chase starts this season. He won nicely on debut at Southwell over just shy of 2m5f and then ran with credit when third on his second start at Doncaster, where he wasn’t suited by the drop back in trip to 2m3f. 

He has yet to race over this extended trip but everything about him suggests he’s going to improve significantly for this greater stamina test. He was a strong finisher over 2m5f at Ascot last season and again over 2m4f at Leicester, where the soft ground he will face here did not appear to hamper him.  

His mark of 122 looks perfectly workable and he arrives here fresh from a 37-day break, I expect him to take plenty of beating over this new trip. 

I am hoping that trainer Tom Ellis has been calling the handicappers bluff as he steps this son of Telescope up significantly in trip for his handicap debut. He shaped with a degree of promise on his stable debut at Kempton, where having been outpaced he stayed on nicely up the home straight, albeit never threatening the winner HMS President who is now rated 125. 

At Warwick last time he again found things happening a bit too quick for him over the 2m trip, but that was a strong maiden contest and he was always going to be disadvantaged by being ridden with restraint towards the rear of the field. 

His pedigree does not suggest that he is certain to be suited by this soft ground as his winning dam was at her best on a sound surface. 

However, he gallops with a round action so I do not see it as a concern. This step up in trip is sure to suit and he starts off in handicaps with a low rating of just 93, his trainer has made a solid start to his career in the professional ranks having previously been a consistent trainer of winners on the point-point scene.